In earlier passages, nevertheless, Luke had followed Mark in saying that Jesus’ enemies delivered him “to the Gentiles” (18:32); later, Luke, like Mark, will mention a Roman centurion present at the crucifixion. These clues, along with Luke’s acknowledgment that the written accusation was that Jesus had claimed to be “king of the Jews,” and the charge was sedition (23:38), indicate that Luke knew that the Romans had actually pronounced sentence and carried out the execution. Yet as Luke tells the story, he allows, and perhaps even wants, the reader—especially one unfamiliar with other
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